Products I Used Up in April 2020 – Snack Edition!

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It’s time to write about the products I used up in April. This selection contains a lot of snack foods because I placed a few online orders of snacks recently. Because of the current lockdown, I have not been able to get out to my favourite restaurants and cafes, so I ordered myself a few treats instead. I apologise in advance if this post makes you hungry!

Products I used up in April 2020

Health and Beauty

Before getting on to the snacks, here are the health and beauty products that I used up.

LUSH Ginger Naked Shower Gel

This was a limited-edition shower gel that I bought during the winter. I have used several of LUSH’s naked shower gels before, and I like them because they are a packaging-free option, and they also last longer than a liquid shower gel.

This shower gel was bright red and very pigmented. It’s beautiful, but it did get red splashes all over the shower that I had to rinse off afterwards. I also had to be careful not to leave traces of red anywhere else when moving this shower gel around. It had a layer of (biodegradable) shimmer on the outside but that soon washed off.

The product lathered up on my skin and turned into pink foam. The good thing about the bright colour is that you can easily see which parts of your body you have applied shower gel on!

It smelt of spice – definitely ginger and also a hint of cinnamon. In my opinion, it is an autumnal or wintery scent, which makes sense as it was limited edition over the winter.

I liked this shower gel, but it was very messy because of the bright colour! This would put me off from choosing it again because I would prefer to choose a less messy one next time. However, if this was the only one available, or if I received it as a gift, I would still gladly use it.

Superdrug Procare Sensitive Expanding Floss

Supplements and Remedies

Terralabs Organic Ashwagandha

I have been taking ashwagandha supplements for a while but this is the first time I have used this particular brand. However, I haven’t noticed any difference between this brand and the one I was using previously. Both are capsules, and both contain organic black pepper which is supposed to improve absorption of the supplement. The advantage of this brand is that the capsules come in a glass jar rather than plastic, so it is more sustainable.

It’s hard to tell whether the ashwagandha supplements have had any health benefits. Now that this jar has run out I have decided to stop taking them for a while because I have been spending money on so many supplements without even knowing if they are doing anything. If I do decide to restart taking ashwagandha, I would buy this brand again.

Amaizin Organic Natural Corn Chips x2

These chips basically taste like any other plain tortilla chips. They are nice and salty which I like. However, they stand out from other tortilla chips because they are a more ethical choice. They are organic, palm oil-free, and made with GMO-free corn. I also like that they contain sea salt because this is healthier than processed table salt.

The chips come in a generously sized bag, so although they are very more-ish, each bag lasted me a few days of snacking. The downside to this product is that the bag is made of plastic and is not recyclable, at least not in the mainstream.

I enjoyed these chips and I would buy them again, but I would favour an alternative that comes in recyclable packaging. According to the packet, these chips also come in other flavours including chilli and paprika. I would like to try these as I like flavourful snacks!

Cheeky Monkey Peanut Butter Chilli Pepper Puffs

I got these from The Ethical Superstore too. They were really nice – my favourite of all the snacks I have had recently. Once I started eating them, there was no way I was going to stop until I had finished the packet! I didn’t feel bad about eating the whole pack at once because all the ingredients are pretty healthy, and they are light and fluffy in texture.

I was intrigued by the unusual flavour combination of peanut butter and chilli pepper. It really works! These puffs were full of flavour and really satisfying to eat. The chilli gave them a kick but it wasn’t too hot. The peanut butter got stuck around my mouth a bit, but not in a bad way. They are 50% peanut butter, after all, so it’s to be expected!

There was a fairly generous amount in the pack although it certainly wasn’t full to the top. The packet is made of plastic which is not ideal from a sustainability point of view. However, in other ways, it is a great ethical product because it is vegan, organic, GMO-free and uses sustainable palm oil.

I would definitely buy these again, the only thing that puts me off is the plastic packaging. Fingers crossed they will change this in future!

Soffle’s Pitta Chips

This is yet another ‘crisp style’ snack that I bought, this time from the Cruelty Free Beauty Box online shop. These are described as ‘oven roasted pitta chips’ and I bought 4 packs because I wanted to try every flavour. The flavours were:

I liked these, but I wasn’t obsessed. They were extremely crunchy, and I feel the crunchiness overwhelmed the flavour a bit. I think they would have been better with dips (which I didn’t try) as that might soften the crunch and add more flavour.

My favourite flavour was the Rosemary and Thyme, which was also the least crunchy. The Wild version of the Chilli and Garlic was hot, but not as hot as I thought it might be, which I am glad about because I prefer flavoursome rather than extremely hot foods! The heat was manageable even without a drink of water beside me. The Mild version was still quite hot. I didn’t actually notice a huge difference between the two, but I did eat them on different days so it’s hard to compare.

The packaging appears to be made of paper, coated in some sort of foil on the inside. This suggests that they might be more recyclable than normal plastic crisp bags, but I am unsure whether the foil layer is actual foil or plastic, and whether the two materials would need to be separated first. There is no information on the packet about this. I feel they should have made it clearer whether their packaging is recyclable or not, especially as they have gone to the effort of making them from a non-standard material that appears to be more eco-friendly.

I am not in a rush to buy these again but I certainly would in the future. Next time, I will try them with dips!

Clearspring Organic Seaveg Crispies x2

I ordered these from The Ethical Superstore. The main reason I chose these is that I have been trying to incorporate more seaweed into my diet lately, due to the high iodine content. I read recently about the health benefits of iodine, especially for the thyroid gland.

These Seaveg Crispies basically consist of rectangular sheets of nori seaweed. Each pack contained about 10 sheets. They were very tasty, and had a sprinkling of salt which I liked. However, they were very small so I finished off the whole pack in about 2 minutes and they didn’t fill me up. I shouldn’t be surprised really as each pack contains only 18 calories.

I think these would have been more satisfying if I had them with other food. For example, I could have a bowl of rice and soy sauce, and wrap bits of rice up in these sheets. They would also be less messy to eat that way. When I ate them dry on their own, they flaked and made a bit of a mess.

I liked these, but I don’t think I would get them again, mainly because of the high ratio of plastic packaging to actual food. The sheets came in a plastic tray, inside an outer plastic wrapper. It would be more efficient to just buy a big pack of full-sized nori sheets.

Yogi Tea For the Senses – Pure Happiness

I bought this tea quite a while ago, along with two other packs from the ‘For the Senses’ range. It claims to ‘make your senses soar with essential oils of refreshing lemongrass and tangy lemon’. It also contains green tea and ginger. To me, this tea tasted very similar to lemon and ginger tea.

As the name and description suggest, this tea is supposed to raise your spirits and make you feel happy and alive. I didn’t notice a specific difference in my mood from drinking this tea, but I suppose it is a big claim for a tea to make you happy!

A thing I like about Yogi teas is that they come with an inspirational quote on each teabag tag. They also come with a yoga pose on each box. This adds another element of fun and interest to these teas.

The teabags areindividually wrapped in paper, and come in a cardboard box. This makes them a fairly sustainable option compared to some other teas that come wrapped in plastic.

Ashwagandha is supposed to help reduce stress and anxiety, lower blood sugar, improve brain function and various other benefits so it definitely appealed to me when I first heard about it! Thanks for reading 😊